Exploring the impact of workplace cyberbullying on trainee doctors

OBJECTIVES

Workplace bullying is an occupational hazard for trainee doctors. However, little is known about their experiences of cyberbullying at work. This study examines the impact of cyberbullying among trainee doctors, and how attributions of blame for cyberbullying influence individual and work-related outcomes.

METHODS

Doctors at over 6 months into training were asked to complete an online survey that included measures of cyberbullying, blame attribution, negative emotion, job satisfaction, interactional justice and mental strain. A total of 158 trainee doctors (104 women, 54 men) completed the survey.

RESULTS

Overall, 73 (46.2%) respondents had experienced at least one act of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying adversely impacted on job satisfaction (β = - 0.19; p < 0.05) and mental strain (β = 0.22; p < 0.001), although attributions of blame for the cyberbullying influenced its impact and the path of mediation. Negative emotion mediated the relationship between self-blame for a cyber-bullying act and mental strain, whereas interactional injustice mediated the association between blaming the perpetrator and job dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Acts of cyberbullying had been experienced by nearly half of the sample during their training and were found to significantly relate to ill health and job dissatisfaction. The deleterious impact of cyberbullying can be addressed through both workplace policies, and training for trainee doctors and experienced medical professionals.

Parental separation and child aggressive and internalizing behavior: an event history calendar analysis

This study investigated the relationship between parental separation and aggressive and internalizing behavior in a large sample of Swiss children drawn from the ongoing Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths. Parents retrospectively reported life events and problem behavior for the first 7 years of the child's life on a quarterly basis (N = 995; 28,096 time points) using an Event History Calendar. The time sequences of separation and child problem behavior were analyzed. Parental separation affected both aggressive and internalizing behavior even when maternal depression, financial difficulties, and parental conflict were included. Parental separation exerted a direct effect on child problem behavior as well as an indirect effect via maternal depression.

Predictors of attributions of self-blame and internalizing behavior problems in sexually abused children

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the present study was to identify predictors of two potential sequelae of child sexual abuse, self-blame attributions and internalizing behavior problems.

METHODS

In the study, detailed information was collected on 218 victims of sexual abuse aged 4 to 17, involved in criminal cases, about their background, the abuse, and their mother's reaction following discovery of the abuse.

RESULTS

Increased attributions of self-blame were predicted by the child having a close relationship with the perpetrator, experiencing severe sexual abuse (e.g., long-lasting abuse that involved penetration), perceiving the abuse as disgusting, and coping with the abuse by pretending it was not happening. Similar factors did not emerge as predictors of internalizing behavior problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that different child and abuse characteristics predict the two sequelae often associated with childhood sexual abuse. Thus, although self-blame attributions and behavior problems are often considered similar consequences of sexual abuse, there appears a need to distinguish the two types of outcomes following sexual victimization in childhood.